Mr. Gary Guidry reports

GRAN TIERRA ENERGY INC. ANNOUNCES 2024 GUIDANCE AND OPERATIONS UPDATE

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. has released its 2024 capital budget and production guidance. All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars, and all production volumes are on a working interest before royalties basis and are expressed in barrels of oil per day, unless otherwise stated.

Key highlights:

• 2024 guidance:
  • Gran Tierra is forecasting several ranges for the company's 2024 budget.

• 2024 base capital program -- profitable production growth and high-impact near-field exploration:
  • Building on a successful development campaign in 2023, Gran Tierra plans to continue to increase production while also seeking to add new reserves and future growth through exploration. A key area of focus for the company, that is underpinned by the 2023 announcement of the Suroriente continuation agreement, is the South Putumayo and Ecuador development and exploration corridor, which includes the Suroriente, Alea-1848A, Put-7, Charapa and Chanangue blocks. This corridor offers material growth potential through development and exploration. This core growth area for the company is expected to provide years of drilling opportunities and profitable production growth.
  • Development: Gran Tierra expects to allocate approximately 55 to 60 per cent of its 2024 capital program toward development activities in its core assets in Colombia, including:
    • Acordionero: The company plans to drill six to eight development wells in the Acordionero oil field in the Middle Magdalena Valley basin. Acordionero's 2024 plans also include drilling pad extensions and continuing water flood optimization.
    • Costayaco: In this oil field, located in the northern Putumayo basin, Gran Tierra plans to drill three to five development wells.
    • Suroriente: In the southern Putumayo basin, Gran Tierra plans to commence development drilling later in second half 2024 in the Cohembi oil field located in the Suroriente block, which would be the first wells drilled by the company in this block since 2018. In addition to development drilling, the company is also planning facility expansion, an increase in gas to power generation, new development well pads and social investment in the area. With the planned investments in 2024, production is expected to materially increase in 2025 and 2026.
  • Exploration: Approximately 40 to 45 per cent of the company's 2024 capital program is expected to be allocated to high-impact near-field exploration activities and the drilling of six to nine exploration wells in Colombia and Ecuador in the base case and high case. Gran Tierra's 2024 exploration drilling is planned to follow up on the encouraging results from the company's 2022 exploration program. The company focuses its exploration program on short-cycle-time, near-field prospects in proven basins with access to transportation infrastructure. In addition to drilling exploration wells, the company plans to commence a 238-square-kilometre 3-D seismic program over the Charapa block in Ecuador and preinvest in advancing drilling licences and building pads for the 2025 exploration program in Colombia and Ecuador.
• Fully financed capital program generating free cash flow: Gran Tierra's midpoint base-case 2024 capital budget of $225-million is expected to be fully financed from the base-case 2024 midpoint cash flow forecast of $300-million, based on an assumed average $80-per-barrel Brent oil price. Gran Tierra remains focused on generating strong free cash flow, continuing net debt reduction and shareholder returns through share buybacks.
• Share buybacks: During 2024, Gran Tierra plans to allocate up to approximately 50 per cent of its free cash flow to share buybacks in the base case. During 2023, the company repurchased approximately 7.1 per cent of its outstanding shares.
• Control of capital program: Gran Tierra holds a 100-per-cent working interest in and operatorship of the company's major assets in Colombia and Ecuador. This full control provides the company with the flexibility to swiftly optimize its development and exploration programs in response to fluctuations, whether positive or negative, in oil prices.
• Gran Tierra's commitment to go beyond compliance in environmental, social and governance:
  • Two thousand twenty-three was the company's safest year on record, with a total of 16.3 million person hours without a lost-time injury, and a total recordable case frequency of 0.02, which places Gran Tierra within the region's top quartile in safety performance.
  • Gran Tierra is pleased to announce that the company has been accepted by the Voluntary Principles Initiative (VPI) as an official member of the Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights worldwide initiative. This appointment strengthens the company's commitment to the responsible implementation of human rights policies and practices in all its operations.
  • In 2023, Gran Tierra signed a four-year extension with the prominent environmental NGO Conservation International to continue and expand upon the company's highly successful NaturAmazonas program, the largest reforestation program of its nature in Colombia. This extension continues to harmonize economic development and conservation in the Piedmont region of the Putumayo department in southern Colombia.

Message to shareholders

Gary Guidry, president and chief executive officer of Gran Tierra, commented: "Gran Tierra Energy is looking forward to a successful and profitable 2024, and we are committed to delivering value to all our stakeholders by focusing on safety, sustainable growth and robust return of capital to shareholders. Our 2024 budget, expected to be fully funded by cash flow, takes a balanced, returns-focused approach to capital allocation. We plan to focus on four key areas: profitably growing reserves and production in our existing assets, prudently pursuing high-impact exploration in our portfolio, fortifying our balance sheet through net debt reduction, and executing share buybacks. During 2024, we are targeting a net debt to [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] ratio of 0.8 to 1.2 times.

"We are excited to restart drilling in our high-impact exploration portfolio in 2024, which may present us with opportunities for substantial growth in both Ecuador and Colombia. Having meticulously high-graded our exploration portfolio, we are dedicated to pursuing transformative opportunities that could enhance our growth trajectory and bring significant value to our stakeholders.

"We believe Gran Tierra is well positioned to navigate the current volatile environment with our low base decline, conventional oil asset base, and our full operational control of capital allocation and timing. As we profitably pursue our operational and financial objectives, we remain steadfast in our commitment to the well-being of our employees and the communities in which we operate, recognizing their vital importance to our success."

Operations update:

• Production:
  • Gran Tierra achieved total company average production in 2023 of approximately 32,650 barrels of oil per day, an increase of 6 per cent from 2022 and 23 per cent from 2021, and was within the company's prescribed 2023 guidance.
• Colombia development:
  • Following Gran Tierra's successful 2023 development drilling campaigns at the Acordionero and Costayaco fields, the company has accelerated its 2024 development program and, in mid-December, 2023, commenced continuing multiwell drilling campaign in both fields.
  • Costayaco development campaign (Putumayo basin):
    • Since December, 2023, Gran Tierra has so far drilled two oil wells.
    • The first well in the current drilling campaign, the CYC-56, was spudded on Dec. 16, 2023. The well has been completed, and is now on production and yielding encouraging results. The company is completing the second well, the CYC-57, with production testing planned during January, 2024.
    • During Jan. 8 to Jan. 15, 2024, the CYC-56 produced on jet pump at a stable average rate of 2,118 bopd (30-degree API gravity) with a water cut of 1.4 per cent and a gas to oil ratio of 141 standard cubic feet per stock tank barrel.
    • The CYC-56 provides further evidence that multiple additional drilling opportunities may exist in the northern region of Costayaco, where the company plans to target unswept portions of oil with future wells.
    • During all of 2024, the company plans to drill a total of three to five development wells in Costayaco.
  • Acordionero development campaign (Middle Magdalena Valley basin):
    • During all of 2024, the company plans to drill a total of six to eight development wells in Acordionero.

Corporate presentation:

• Gran Tierra's corporate presentation has been updated and is available at the company's website.

About Gran Tierra Energy Inc.

Gran Tierra, together with its subsidiaries, is an independent international energy company currently focused on oil and natural gas exploration and production in Colombia and Ecuador. The company is currently developing its existing portfolio of assets in Colombia and Ecuador, and will continue to pursue additional growth opportunities that would further strengthen the company's portfolio. The company's common stock trades on the NYSE American, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GTE.

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